Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to ensure that funding through the School Rebuilding Programme is spent in line with (a) net zero standards and (b) sustainability goals.

The department commits to a wide range of actions in our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, including a requirement that all new school buildings we deliver are net-zero carbon in operation and are adapted to climate change. The strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy.

All schools funded through the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) have been designed to meet this standard, supporting the UK’s 25-year Environment Plan by requiring all projects to increase their level of greening in support of biodiversity net gain. The design principles of our output specification for SRP will ensure sites are more resilient to the impact of climate change and buildings delivered will achieve net zero carbon in operation.